Monster
by Psychotic Arsonist
Summary: He was called a monster by everyone, even before the stitches. No one accepted him as a human, one of their own. He felt like a puzzle piece, shoved into the wrong spot, forced to fit in where he couldn't. Only one person in his life called him by his name, and didn't see him as a monster... KakuzuXOC rated T because of a certain jashinist. One-shot.


Everyone called him monster. Even when he was young, before the tragedy, they called him monster because of his eyes, the blood-red and neon green eyes. He learned to stay away from the others by day, and only moved around by night. His family had abandoned him when he was born, leaving him in his grandmother's care until she died. He was left to live on the streets when he was only six, and learned from experience how to fight and defend himself. Soon, he joined the academy in his village to become a shinobi, to show the others that he wasn't a monster. There were people who bullied him, and he never made any friends. He was just, _different_, that's all. And he kept telling himself that until he was twenty, when the tragedy happened. That is how he gained his stitches, and ran away from his home village. He couldn't ignore those voices calling him the same name over and over again.

'_Monster..._'

He lived alone for five years, traveling around and only venturing into a village to get food and other essentials. He thought he was alone until he met _her._ She was the only one who didn't call him monster, only his name.

"Kakuzu-san, you alright?" Kakuzu was tugged back into reality and looked over at the golden eyes which stared at him.

"Fine." He sighed as he shoved away the depressing memories of his past.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." He considered her as a only a friend, only a companion who saw him as a human, just like herself and anyone else. Not a monster.

"Come on, Kakuzu-san! We're friends, so don't keep secrets from me!" He sighed. He knew how she felt about him. In her view, they were more than friends, but in his view, they were just companions who looked out for each other.

"Ari, check on how much food we have left. We must be running low." Ari scampered off and disappeared around the wall. Right now, they were taking refuge in an old building. At least it was cleaner than outside.

"Kakuzu-san, we need more food. Want me to go to a small town and get some more?" Kakuzu looked over at the brunette and sighed.

"I'm coming with. Give me a second." He stood up and followed her out, wincing at the light from the sun. He slipped on a cloak with a hood, so he could hide his stitches and eyes from others' view. They both trailed down a long road, then slowly made their way to a small town.

"Kakuzu-san, you have the money?" Ari looked at the stand which held food.

"Always." He pulled out a few yen and paid for the food. Ari didn't know, but he went out to gamble during the middle of the night, and always came back with more money. It was a hobby, he called it. A thought spawned in his head and he froze.

"Ari, I need you to hold onto the money for a bit. Go ahead and buy other essential stuff we need, but nothing more. I forgot something." She nodded and Kakuzu pulled out all his cash from his pocket, then handed it to her. He ran back to the building and grabbed something small, then darted back out again. It was only a five minute trip, but it was enough time for something bad to happen. Kakuzu looked around for Ari, then spotted her slouching against the wall to a shop. Something was wrong.

"Ari! What happened?!" He rushed to her and she jerked up, breathing hard.

"Kakuzu-san! I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop him and he, he just-"

"Ari, zen. Calm down and tell me what happened."

"It was just after you left, and a guy came up to me with a knife and- and I didn't want to get hurt and he wanted the money so-" Kakuzu took a second to process the information.

"**You what?! You lost the money!?**" Ari winced. Kakuzu never yelled at her, but this... she didn't know what to do.

"Kakuzu-san... I said I was sorry... I- I didn't want to get hurt..."

"**You lost the money! So now what?! Where's the food?!**"

"He... He took it..." Ari felt like she was having a heart attack. She could feel the tears pushing themselves out.

"**Great! Just great! No food, no money! What now!?**" Kakuzu looked at Ari and realized what he just did. She was wide-eyed and breathing heavily, then crumbled down against the wall, crying.

"Ari..." He crouched down and tried to touch her, but she shoved his hand away and yelled at him.

"**GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU... YOU MONSTER!**" Kakuzu froze.

'_Monster..._'

The only person he ever cared about called him a monster. Now everyone called him a monster. No one was there for him to call a friend, who would see him as like everyone else, a human. He was a monster, and everyone reminded him of that. Every. Single. Damned. Day.

Kakuzu stood up silently and walked away, leaving Ari, for good. He never stopped walking, even if it was raining. All that he did was think about his existence. The only thing he cared about now was money. He chose it over staying with Ari, seeing how the stolen money was somehow more important to him than her. He finally stopped when he reached a mountainside, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small glass orb. It was a gift from Ari, as she gained it from her grandmother. When Kakuzu found her, she was hurt and he helped her. In return, she gave him the orb. Kakuzu placed the orb back into his pocket, then kept on walking, leaving the past behind him.

* * *

"Kakuzu... where the fuck are we going?!" Kakuzu kept his temper at bay while the silver haired jashinist whined.

"We're staying at an Inn for the night, so stop your whining, Hidan." Hidan mumbled nonsense and continued to follow Kakuzu. It was going to take a few minutes to reach the Inn, but it was cheap. And that was all that mattered.

"Two rooms as far from another as possible." Kakuzu sighed and reluctantly paid for the rooms and were handed the keys. He tossed one to Hidan and they both split up, finding their way to their rooms. When Kakuzu entered his, he pulled off his mask and sat on the bed. He then pulled out the orb from his pocket from long ago, always seeming to be surprised he still had it after all this time. Staring at his reflection, one word spawned in his head from long ago.

'_Monster..._'

Kakuzu put the orb away and sighed. He found an organization that had other people who were called monsters. They had felt the same pain as he did long ago, but Kakuzu somehow felt like he still didn't fit in. Like he was a puzzle piece being shoved into the wrong spot, forced to fit where he didn't belong. He was missing something. He at least knew that.

"Kakuzu! I don't fucking like my room! I want to fucking trade!" Kakuzu was glad he locked the door, then took off his cloak, ignoring Hidan. He pulled out the glass orb again and set it on the side table next to the bed, then turned out the light.

* * *

"Owww..." Ari rubbed her forehead, glaring at the branch which just whacked her. She looked around at her surroundings and spotted a distant light.

"A place to stay! Awesome!" She stood up and sprinted off towards the light, forgetting about the pain from the branch when it connected with her forehead earlier. She nearly collapsed in exhaustion when she reached the entrance to the Inn. When her balance steadied itself, she opened the door, happy that she wouldn't sleep outside tonight. The first thing that she noticed was two people with the same cloak were standing at the desk. One of them had a scythe strapped to his back. The other was wearing a mask.

'_His voice seems familiar..._' Ari watched the masked man, wondering who he was. The silver haired one was yapping loudly and was complaining nonstop.

"I don't fucking like it here. Why does every fucking place we say at for the night have to be fucking cheap, Kakuzu?!" Ari froze. She stared at the masked man and caught a glimpse of his eyes. They were the same as long ago.

'_Kakuzu..._' She felt like her chest was being stabbed multiple times, remembering the face of the man from long ago. Ari sat down, letting herself breathe again. She sat there for a bit, until she calmed down completely and stood up.

"Uh, ma'am. You need to sign in." Ari looked over to the man at the desk.

"My friend already has a room for me." The man nodded and Ari continued walking, stopping when she saw the silver haired man from earlier yelling at a door.

"Kakuzu! I don't fucking like my room! I want to fucking trade!" The man stood there for a bit, then gave up and trudged past Ari, mumbling nonsense. Ari looked at the door he was yelling at and walked forward, raising a hand to knock. She then stopped herself and sat down against the wall next to the door. She was going to wait there all night.

* * *

Kakuzu groaned in pain and looked over at the clock next to him. It was only 7:37 in the morning. He sat up, the pain in his shoulders making him wince. When he stood up, he noticed a chakra source from nearby, but it wasn't Hidan's. He walked to the door and opened it, unlocking it first. He looked down and almost jumped. Ari seemed to notice the movement and woke up, then stared at Kakuzu. Almost immediately, Kakuzu closed the door and walked away. When he reached the bed, the door was opened and Ari came in.

"So that's what you do after all this time?! Just try and ignore me?! Like I never existed?! **Well?!**"

"I don't want to hurt you again. Leave."

"**Hurt me again? Really?! After you left, I've regretted everything I've done! You were gone, and that was it! You have no clue how horrible my life has been since then! I've tried to solve the problems in many ways! I've even tried committing suicide multiple times!**" Kakuzu winced at this and glanced back at Ari. "I've said it before, but I am sorry. I was under a lot of stress and I didn't ever wanted to harm you, or even call you 'that'. You're not a monster, Kakuzu... it's... it's just... that I..." Ari let the tears take control, and she collapsed to the ground. Kakuzu strode over to her and crouched down. He placed two fingers at the back edge of her jaw and traced it until his fingers rested underneath her chin, tilting her head up to look at him.

"I understand..." Kakuzu slid his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her forward, letting their lips touch. Ari tensed up, but relaxed once she realized what was happening. They broke the kiss and Ari held Kakuzu in a hug. She set her head on his shoulder and whispered something to him.

"I love you..."


End file.
